1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an adjustable base device and system, particularly a device and system wherein a base is raised and lowered by rotating key means.
2. Background Art
Serving containers, particularly those containing prepared food in public view, should consider public perception of the products contained therein. Containers of this type interfacing in a public way are often found in open kitchen style restaurants or in intimate domestic settings. Open kitchen style restaurants, such as sandwich shops, buffet and self serve restaurants derive commercial value and sales from public perception of food presentation. Not only is a fresh presentation critical to the viability of such an establishment, it is also subject to regulation. In private use, when entertaining guests, food presentation is equally important. The desire of a guest or invitee to purchase or consume food held within an open container will depend on their perception of the quality and freshness of that food. As such, the aesthetic presentation of products held within an open container is a necessary quality and feature of an affective container device and system.
An existing and unsolved problem in the industry regards the fluctuation of volume in a given food container and how that may drive or detract from a perception of quality. The typical container used in establishments such as sandwich shops or bars are simply square or rectangular in shape with no adjustable base feature. As food is being depleted from a container, the food assembler or restaurant server would have to continually replenish the container with new material in order to create a perception of fullness and freshness. Any gap between refill leaves the container looking partially full or near empty. If the time between refill is extensive, the food held within will begin to look aged even if it is still edible. Poor perception negatively impacts and drives down sales, pushing away potential customers. When this problem becomes a consistent pattern for a business, it begins to impact reputation in irreversible ways. There is a need in the industry to enable restaurant staff to manage the fill perception of a container in public view in order to maintain the attention of their guests, consistency in presentation and standard of their reputation.
The prior art addressing this specific issue are few and inadequate. Those devices that allow a user to adjust perception of volume without continual refill typically provide a container with a floating base centrally attached to a stem or handle. The handle tends to be embodied in a vertical stick protruding from or through the center of the floating base, interconnecting with the base and causing both elements to move together. The stick protrudes sufficiently upward or outward from the container to be accessible by the user's hand. Lifting the base would require the user to pull the handle upward, raising the handle and the floating base. Although the base is effectively lifted, so is the stem further above the top of the container. The stem being attached centrally to the base detracts from usable surface area of the base, affecting the way in which and the amount of material held therein. An alternative embodiment would have the stem protruding from the side of the container. However, this would result in a vertical slit through the container, eliminating the ability for the container to hold flowable material. In this case, the slidable stem to the side of the container not only takes away usable space from the side perimeter of the container, but also is difficult to access if the container is placed adjacent to other products. As such, the concept of a floating adjustable base that is moved by an attached stem or handle is not a practical solution to the problem highlighted herein.
There is currently no container having a vertically adjustable base that provides an illusion of continual fullness, with maximum usable surface area on the base, is easy to handle, satisfies FDA sanitary regulation, and has no above surface protrusion that would otherwise impede or detract from the work area.